If it really is an attention economy and the billion channel universe means that we can engage in any type of activity at any given time, then WHY would someone choose to spend time with your community (as we’ve defined it)?
Understanding this is a critical element in providing the community with the right ingredients for it to grow.
Back in the very early days of Never Stop Marketing (before I even had the name, but I digress), I had a chance to sit down for 2 hours with Dan Pink (client) and Internet pioneer, Jeff Pulver.
Jeff shared that “understanding the CORE motivation” was a fundamental driver of community.
Interestingly enough, Dan Pink’s book that followed about 2 years later, called Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us focuses, in large part, on the idea of “intrinsic motivation” as the avenue through which people create their best work.
So, coming back to our question, if people have billions of options about where they can spend their time, what is motivating them to spend it with you?
For example:
- Are you reading this because you want to be a better marketer?
- Do you manage a community of your own and you are looking to ignite it?
- Are you looking for a new job and think this may help you understand the “new world” of community and marketing?
- Did a friend send you this link suggesting that you read it for reasons unknown to you?
- Are you my mom? (Hi mom).
Any of these (as well as others) are core motivators for you to read and, by extension, be a part of the Never Stop Marketing community. Your act of reading this is an act (no matter how limited for now) of participation.
Which is great, of course, but understanding WHY is the difference between creating additional reasons for you to come back and giving you NO reason to come back.
So, what can you (or I) do?
- Ask directly: What is your core motivation for participating today? [Please let me know]
- Offer up a poll (click here)
- Listen to those who talk about you, e.g. if someone retweets or blogs about you, thank them (see part 1) and then ask about motivation.
- Create a poll on your Facebook fan page
- Give them a path to follow on your site and track clickthroughs
- if you are interested in community, click here
- if you are interested in marketing strategy, click here
- if you are looking for a job, click here
- if you are a Raving Fan, click here
- if you are my mom, call me
- Make a content “drip” plan that aligns to your assumptions around motivation and track engagement (comments, likes, tweets, etc.)
Day Topic Results Monday Marketing Strategy Tuesday Technology Wednesday Case Studies Thursday Community Friday Stories
This is far from an exhaustive list of possibilities. What’s more, you need not necessarily do everything in a scientific fashion (of course, it’s ideal, but not always realistic).
Regardless, asking (and beginning to answer the question) of the CORE motivation for participation will help you go a long way towards understanding how to best cultivate your community.
To Get Caught Up